I'm crabby about cancer! My blog is the story of my participation in events for Team in Training to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
As a Hodgkin's lymphoma survivor from 2002, I want to give something back to show the gratitude that I have for surviving this disease. I completed my sixth Team in Training event in October 2013, and in September 2011, I walked 60 miles to raise money for breast cancer research! I'm living strong!

Monday, September 21, 2009

Running on the Last Day of Summer

I woke up early with things on my mind, lay in bed thinking uselessly for a while, and finally got up at 5:15. It was time for a run!

A run - that is not a typo. Yes, I know it has been weeks or even a couple of months since I ran. And you know, it felt good! I ran about 2 miles, a half mile at a time, while walking in between for about five minutes, for a total of nearly four miles. Running felt really comfortable – other than when I nearly sprained an ankle stepping into a little drainage gully in the dark as a car came by - maybe I need to do this more often. I could have run more distance at a time even, but I know that after so much time sans running, I could easily overdo it. My legs have felt a little sore all day – just a touch – and I am really looking forward to water aerobics tonight.

The stars (and planets) this morning were incredible. A few parts of my route were in total darkness, and for those parts, the sky was just amazing. I could not quite see the Milky Way, but there were thousands of stars twinkling away. I know so few of the constellations. The Big Dipper, pointing to Polaris and the Little Dipper, was easy to find, as is Orion. Venus shown brightly like a beacon. But other than that, they were just stars. I need to set a goal of learning a few more of the stars and constellations.

A few hundred years ago, I bet people everywhere knew most of the constellations, how they should appear at different times of the year, and how to find a route at night using them. Certainly sailors did, and overland explorers. They could not comprehend the GPS that we have today. Their livelihoods, and their lives, depended on their knowledge. We consider ourselves so advanced today, but in many ways our ancestors were more knowledgeable than we are. Going to Henricus City yesterday was an interesting reminder of how much we take for granted in our modern lives – and how easy day to day life is compared to a few hundred years ago.

I cannot believe that summer is over. It has just flown by. As we get older, and we realize that the very finite number of summers (or falls, winters, or springs) that we have remaining in our lives has just gone down by one, we realize how so very quickly life goes by – even on days when we wake up a little too early mulling things over. So remember to live, and enjoy, each day.

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Racing for a Cure and Living Strong!

About this blog

Every post prior to July 24, 2008 was written previously and posted in this blog as time allowed, starting in June. These posts describe my preparation for and participation in Team in Training for the 2008 Arizona Marathon. In addition, I've written about the May 2008 Susan G. Komen for the Cure in Richmond, Virginia. Posts from July 24 forward were written in the present, as I race to be a small part of finding a cure for the evil beast known as cancer!

Who Should our Role Models Be?

I believe that every day people doing every day things who are trying to do good in the world should be our true role models, not "sports heroes", actors and actresses, pop stars, politicians, super models, and other celebrities. Let them all do what they do best - which is athletics, acting, music, getting elected, modeling, and acting like celebrities. But unless they are a true role model, let's not pretend that they are simply because they can dunk a basketball or look great in a swim suit or win an Oscar. You and I are role models when we do something good in the world.